Eminem - Slim Shady EP

After the release of the fairly mediocre Infinite (which, contrary to my expectations, I actually enjoyed less on my re-listen for the review), Eminem decided that he was going to need something a bit more interesting to work with for his next project. A white guy rapping about positivity with a flow stolen from AZ and Nas over some generic poppy beats from Denaun Porter wasn't cutting it for the general public, and with artists such as Busta Rhymes and Redman on the scene making wildly zany music to capture the attention of hip-hop heads, Em was going to need to find a way to stand out. 

Enter: Slim Shady.

Slim Shady was a ridiculous character that Eminem created to try and come across as an edgy maniac, and therefore appeal much more to his target listeners, who wanted something a bit different from the basic flows and lyrics that Infinite had (although I will admit that the rhyme schemes on that album were bloody impressive). Of course, anger at the shitty world he had been born into also played a part in the making of this character, we can't forget that. So, what to do with this alter ego? Well, Em got straight to work writing from the perspective of Slim, and what came out of it was an eight track EP released in 1997 into the Detroit underground. Slim Shady EP. The album that got Em recognised by Dr. Dre. 

As a huge Eminem fan for many years, I saw Slim Shady EP as an incredibly important release, but also one that I didn't listen to a whole lot because the idea of actually buying a physical copy of this album was similar to throwing all of my money into a waterfall in return for six songs and two skits that weren't even that phenomenal in the first place. I mean, have you seen how much this thing goes for? Not having a CD of this project meant I didn't listen to it a huge amount even in my Eminem phase, and outside of my Eminem phase it's been pretty much forgotten to me. Since I'm doing these discographies in order, though, I've gotta re-listen to this project, and I'm actually looking forward to going back into this thing. The cover is great, and from what I remember this is a pretty quick and easy listen, albeit an incredibly entertaining one at the same time. 

So, sit back and relax, as I dissect the very first ever outing of the character we would come to know and love as Slim Shady. 

1. Slim Shady (Intro) (prod. Eminem)

Incredibly intriguing intro which also serves to explain what the fuck is going on in the album cover. This is probably the best opening skit in the entire Eminem catalogue, which is pretty crazy considering on this album he had no budget or actors or anything. The only one that even comes close is "Dr. West". 

2. Low Down, Dirty (prod. Da Brigade, co-prod. Denine Porter)

Holy fuck the transition into this track from the last is good. This track is known for being the introduction of Slim Shady, but I mostly remember it for having a chorus that's pretty much a huge homage to Redman (one of my favourite MC's of all time, and one of the most underrated) with a little Notorious B.I.G. sample thrown in there too. I mean, not only do they sample a line from Red's "Soopaman Luva 3" on here, but Eminem also repeats a couplet from Red's "Rated "R"" for the other half of the chorus. Pretty interesting stuff. Anyway, the song itself is pretty great despite this, even if this doesn't seem to be quite as shocking as I know a lot of the other songs on here are. Eminem's lyrical ability seems even better here than it was on Infinite, and his personality shines through more too, even if his vocals sound like they were recorded in a sports hall they're so echoey. The beat from Da Brigade and Mr. Porter is also really stellar, and kind of reminds me of that on the title track from the last album, which is a good thing. This is a great way to open the album, and I very much appreciate any kind of love shown for Redman. I mean, that guy is a legend.

3. If I Had... (prod. DJ Rec)

Big fans of Eminem will know that half of the actual songs here went on to appear on Eminem's next album, his major label debut The Slim Shady LP. What's interesting is that two of them would have completely different instrumentals, meaning "If I Had..." is the only song that made it onto The Slim Shady LP completely unchanged from its form on here. For some reason I always used to dislike this song, but listening now I'm not sure why - the beat's not very interesting, sure, but Em's rhymes certainly are, and that chorus is absolutely iconic. I'll probably leave more thoughts on this one when I go on to do my review of The Slim Shady LP though, so stay tuned for that. 

4. Just Don't Give A Fuck (prod. Denine Porter)

The original version of this song, before it was re-produced to be released as a single in 1998, and then that version was added to The Slim Shady LP in 1999. This beat definitely isn't as good as the one that replaced it in my opinion, as it doesn't feel as dirty or gritty, and instead feels like creepy abandoned theme park music, but it's still alright and sets a decent mood for this creepy song. The rapping itself is aggressive and brutal, and is probably one of Em's best performances ever besides one or two slightly over-the-top lyrics - his flows are also on point, and unlike on most of Infinite he seems to be focusing on actual lyrical content here rather than just dope rhyme schemes. Again, I'll go more in-depth on this one when I review Em's proper debut, but man I've got to note how good this shit is. 

5. Mommy 

A skit consisting of the sound of Eminem dragging someone's body into his boot (or as you Americans call it, "trunk"). This leads directly into the next song. 

6. Just the Two Of Us (prod. DJ Head)

The original version of a song that would go on to be titled "'97 Bonnie & Clyde", and similar to "Just Don't Give a Fuck", this version of the song with a different beat doesn't work as well as the later rendition of the track. I just really dislike the beat here, and I think it's pretty obvious that the version which appeared on The Slim Shady LP had an instrumental that far better fit the tone of the track. That said, this song is still a masterpiece, and one of the darkest and most creative songs in the entire Eminem catalogue. Don't believe me? Just listen to it! Not this version, though - the 1999 one's a lot better.

7. No One's Iller (feat. Swift, Bizarre Kid & Fuzz) (prod. DJ Head)

For those that had heard The Slim Shady LP before checking this EP out (read: literally everyone), this would be the second completely new track after the first song, and it's worth the wait, as this early D12 posse cut is grimy, brutal, and emphasizes the implied nature of the group far more than both of their solo albums could ever hope to (even if neither of those were actually bad in my opinion). Swifty McVay starts this one off with a stellar verse that pretty much consists of dissing rival rappers in various ways, while Bizarre is surprisingly still completely ridiculous and vulgar, even this early in his career. That said, his verse here is actually pretty dope outside some of the more horrific imagery, and it honestly makes me want to check out his 1997 EP. That said, I still think Eminem has the best performance on the track, with a great verse that incorporates lines such as "new Lugz, that give the crew hugs, guzzle two mugs / before I do drugs that make me throw up like flu bugs". Oh, and Fuzz kinda ruins the end of the song by spending most of his verse talking about gay anal sex, but oh well - it doesn't take away from the fact that this is a fucking great track overall. 

8. Murder, Murder (prod. DJ Rec)

The final song on this EP features a poignant instrumental suitable for closing things out on - the drums on here actually remind me of those on Em's later hit "Like Toy Soldiers". However, since Em has gone full Slim Shady on this project, there's no somber reflections to be found on this track, but instead two tales of murder that both end badly for him - in the first, he's shot and killed by police, and in the second he's surrounded by the pigs. Admittedly, most rappers wouldn't admit to being caught in their crimes, but then again most rappers aren't late '90s Eminem. I wouldn't say this beat is one of my absolute favourites here, but I think Eminem's storytelling makes it worthwhile, and the scratching on the chorus is also a great touch. This is a dope song. 

While Slim Shady EP is a very short listen, it still serves as pretty much the perfect introduction to Eminem's alter ago, bringing the mania, great ear for beats, and more mania that the character was known for. This project, first of all, is a huge, huge step above Infinite - there isn't a single bad song to be found here, and furthermore, the highs of this project are better than the highs on Em's previous work - "Low Down, Dirty", "Just Don't Give a Fuck", "Just the Two Of Us" and "No One's Iller" are four absolute bangers that also have some of Em's most creative lines and concepts. And two of these were so good that he had to include them on his major label debut, albeit with slightly different beats since the ones on here sounded like carousel music. To be honest, though, the other two songs have some of the best beats I've heard Eminem rap over full stop - I love the underground, bass-filled sound, and I think Em and his fellow rappers compliment these styles very well. And bringing it to Eminem himself, his rapping on here is more charismatic and creative than ever before, and I think here is where he decided that he could sacrifice some of the crazy rhyme schemes on Infinite in exchange for having more interesting lyrical content, and it pays off well. In my opinion, this is Eminem's first truly great project, and what makes it better is that he would soon even further improve on this with some of his major label work. It's no wonder that this is the tape that made Dr. Dre sign a random white boy from the Midwest - it's fucking great. 

Best Tracks: Low Down Dirty, Just Don't Give a Fuck, Just the Two Of Us, No One's Iller

Worst Tracks: honestly, none. Even the skits are great!

Catch up on Eminem here, and be sure that there's a lot more to come about him too!

A Tribe Called Quest - People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths Of Rhythm

Being a huge fan of '90s hip-hop, and also a great enjoyer of Busta Rhymes and Leaders Of the New School, it was inevitable that sooner rather than later I would be compelled to explore the discography of the legendary hip-hop trio (or sometimes quartet) that is A Tribe Called Quest. Coming up as part of the Native Tongues collective in the late '80s alongside other acts that included De La Soul and The Jungle Brothers, Tribe would go on to become one of the most well-respected and incredible hip-hop acts in the history of the genre - not that anyone needed telling that, since there's very little argument in the hip-hop community against their status as one of the best collectives of all time. The group are one of the most recognisable in my favourite genre to this day, and so when I realised that I had quite a few of their albums in my house which I hadn't ever decided to check out, I decided it was high time to get into the catalogue. 

And boy am I glad I did. 

Tribe's first album, which went by the fun but overly long title of People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths Of Rhythm, was released in 1990 following the group's signing to Jive Records, and it is widely known as being pretty great, but not as good as their two albums to come after it - of course, at this stage in their career Tribe were still finding their own unique sound, meaning this album sounded more like a De La record without the skits than anything else. Also, many of Tribe's biggest fans cite the undeniable chemistry on the mic between our two lead MCs Q-Tip and Phife Dawg as a key component of the group, and on this album that's barely present ever. The only songs where both artists get equal screen time are "Can I Kick It?" and "Ham 'n' Eggs", and other than that the vocals throughout this album are almost entirely handled by Q-Tip, with Phife appearing as a mere guest MC on his few tracks. And even when he does rap, the lyrics were all written by Tip anyway, so bear that in mind. Of course, Phife Dawg's lack of appearances on the album can be explained by him not even wanting to be a rapper at the time, but still a lot of people who go back through Tribe's catalogue criticise this album for that reason, and I think that's fair enough.

Another thing this album has that none of Tribe's other records do is a series of interludes featuring Jarobi, the fourth member of the group, acting as a master of ceremonies and introducing quite a few of the songs over the same exact instrumental every time. Most of the time his interludes are very short, but still it's easy to tell why someone might find his appearances a bit of a slog - especially when they last for over two minutes, like at the end of the opening track. Jarobi left the group after the release of this album to pursue his own interests, but he was still always cited as a member even after this departure. 

So, the real question is this - what do I, someone born in 2007, think of an album that's almost 35 years old? Well, I've been listening to this record for over a month now, and I feel pretty familiar with it, so I thought it was about time I covered this project on the blog. So let's get to it.

All songs are produced by A Tribe Called Quest, but I'm pretty sure it was mostly just Q-Tip and a little bit of Ali Shaheed Muhammad. 

1. Push It Along

After the ominous sounds of a baby crying that I think is supposed to represent a kind of birth of the group, the drums on this song kick in, and from there we're laughing all the way. The funky instrumental on this track that incorporates a beautiful jazzy melody stands as easily one of the dopest on the whole LP if you ask me, and when those horns come in, it's just such an elevating experience. They really went all out with this beat, and I think it's one that deserves to land in conversation more often. The first verse from Q-Tip is probably my favourite on the track, with those opening lines "Q-Tip is my title, I don't think that it's vital / for me to be your idol, but dig this recital" just being absolutely iconic to me, but it's also worth noting that Phife does show up for a quick 8 bars on here, and I thoroughly enjoy his efforts too. The actual song portion of this track is phenomenal - catchy hook, great positive rapping and one of the best beats of all time in my opinion. There's a rather long interlude on the end with Jarobi introducing the members of the group, and that part probably could have been shortened a bit, but other than that this stands as one of my favourite Tribe tracks of all time. 

2. Luck Of Lucien

Our second absolutely top-tier instrumental of the day is used for the first of many, many Q-Tip solo cuts to appear on this album, and the Tribe catalogue in general. This one is rather odd in its subject matter, as it serves as a whole-ass letter to a French rapper who had moved to New York, and tries to help him with incorporating himself into American society as someone born and raised in France. I don't know who's idea this goofy-ass subject matter was, but thankfully Q-Tip handles it well - the song is funny rather than cornily motivational, and my God is the instrumental on this song luscious. Also, that interlude between the second and third verse where Lucien tries to tell someone that he must be sexy since he's French is hilarious as hell. This song is brilliant. 

3. After Hours

Not quite as classic as the first two songs in my opinion, but still a really pleasant track that continues the midnight vibe that I always feel this album gives off. The beat on here is really nice, and slightly intense as well in a weird way, and Q-Tip rocks it well with some nice storytelling about the Tribe's late night adventures - and while Phife is sadly once again absent from proceedings, he does get quite a few shout-outs in the verses, so that's nice. The lyrics on this song continue the hippy-ish, feel-good direction that this project has, and the scratches in the hook are also perfectly placed - I couldn't imagine any other scratch fitting better. Not sure why the sounds of croaking frogs needed to be implemented into the middle of this song, but otherwise this is the third brilliant cut in a row. 

4. Footprints

I think this one is considered one of the cult classics on this record, but for me it's still not quite on the level of those first two songs - but then again, what is? The instrumental on this song is top tier - it's not perfect, but the celebratory sound makes it stand out on the album, and I think it would have worked well as the final song for the project - and man does Q-Tip kill this one. Q earns his title as The Abstract on here by using some weird phrases and more complex metaphors and such that make the song a little more difficult to follow than the last song, and it works well as this one feels more skilled and professional. This song almost feels like a taste of what we would hear on Midnight Marauders, and while the sound would be improved upon by that point, this song right here is still a great cut if you ask me. 

5. I Left My Wallet In El Segundo

The notorious storytelling single from this album, that seems to be a bit of a controversial point for hip-hop fans. Some (including Rap Critic) think that this song is ridiculous in its execution, with most of the lines stating the obvious and being seemingly completely irrelevant to the story, and I can see where they are coming from for sure - it's difficult not to laugh at lines such as "came to a toll and paid and went through it" and "Ali laid in the back so he can get rest". However, I'm more inclined to love this song just because of how innocent and funny it is - yes, the story itself is boring as shit, but the fact that Q-Tip is rapping it as if its this huge event that deserves a whole song dedicated to it just puts a smile on my face, as does that whole scene while they're in the bar in the middle of the desert. The music video also very much helps my enjoyment of this track, so definitely go check that out. And yeah, as much as the story is stupid, the execution is great, and the beat is really dope too. I love this song. 

6. Pubic Enemy

No, that's not a misspelling - they really did call it "Pubic Enemy". This song is all about the monster that was and is STDs, and I suppose that was quite a big thing in the year 1990, so it makes sense why they'd make a song like this. And wadayaknow - it actually works really well. On the song, Q-Tip tells two different stories that are both slightly uncomfortable but also intriguing, followed by a third verse that simply addresses the STDs as if they were a sentient being that could actually understand him and consciously do the things they're being accused of. Okay, that idea in the song is a little silly in my opinion, but the stories themselves are dope, and I really like the beat too, even if it is a little loud. Kool DJ Red Alert narrates this one too, by the way, in case anyone's interested. 

7. Bonita Applebum

One of the most popular singles from the whole record, and it's easy to tell why - this song is fantastic. The intro is utterly beautiful, and when it segues into the actual beat and chorus it's just a moment of perfection on the album in my opinion - the instrumental is actually easily my favourite element of this song too. I mean, I like Q-Tip's performance on this, but the verses where he takes a bar-long break after every line do get a bit monotonous - I actually think Common did this style better with his song "Come Close" (which was quite clearly influenced by this track). The chorus on here meshes with the beat perfectly, and when you discount the slightly boring flow, the lyrics themselves make for the perfect love letter to this woman. There's a reason this is remembered as one of Tribe's best singles - it's a classic tune. 

8. Can I Kick It?

The biggest single from this whole album, one that charted at no. 15 in the UK despite not charting on the US Billboard Top 100 at all, and one that has been interpolated and covered so many times in hip-hop it's impossible to count (Jay-Z's "22 Two's" comes to mind though). This song is an indisputable classic, with one of the dopest instrumentals of all time (yes, I know it's basically a mix of different samples, but who cares, they made something original out of them) and two fantastic verses from our two MCs. And yes that's right folks - Phife makes his first appearance since the opening track on this song, track eight. Talk about a slacker (just kidding). Also, the actual lyrics are great and memorable here - "if you feel the urge to freak, do the jitterbug / come and spread your arms if you really need a hug" - and that chorus is undeniable in its iconic status. This is a massive banger. 

9. Youthful Expression

On the website Album Of The Year (which I find myself using frequently), I've seen a lot of people say that this album is consistently brilliant... up to track 8, thereby suggesting that this song here isn't up to par. And while it's not as incredible as "Push It Along" or "Can I Kick It?", I'd still have to disagree with those people, as I find this relaxing joint to be one of the best on the album - Q-Tip's incredibly laid back vocal delivery and flow sound really great over this jazzy, chilled instrumental, and the lyrics themselves are really interesting too. The instrumental fake-out thing at the end was also really nicely done. Fantastic track. 

10. Rhythm (Devoted To the Art Of Moving Butts)

After the legendary Prince Paul sets this one up, we are exposed to a song that sounds pretty different to most of the other tracks on here - the drums are as bangin' as always, but the synth sounds used on this one very much make it stand out. And it's kind of in a good way, even though I still wouldn't put this close to the top of my rankings of these songs. Q-Tip's verses are still just as impressive, mind, as he drops lyrical gems such as "rhythms are obese, yeah, you gotta keep 'em fed" and keeps a nice steady flow going throughout too. Oh, and I quite enjoy this hook - it feels less rowdy and more sensual than some of the other ones here. This isn't a highlight by any means, but I still enjoy it loads, and I'm sure everyone else does too. 

11. Mr. Muhammad

Given the amount of times he's shouted out on this album and subsequent releases (who are we on award tour with? And who said you had to be out? And who made you pay for lunch?), I can only assume the other members feel bad that Ali Shaheed Muhammad doesn't ever contribute vocals. Here, he gets his own track named after him, and it's pretty good, if probably my personal least favourite here. Don't get me wrong, I like it, but something about that repeated "fire" sample just gets on my nerves. On the plus side, Phife Dawg makes his third appearance on the album on this song, and hands in a pretty stellar performance too, even if Tip is the clear dominator of this track. This is a good song, but not one I tend to come back to outside of full album listens. 

12. Ham 'N' Eggs

I remember thinking this song was stupid as hell when I first listened to the album, but now it's proved itself worthy by actually really sticking with me - a lot of these lines really are funny. This song, which talks about the dangers of eating unhealthily, has pretty equal screen time between Phife and Tip, and both use it well, with the best part being the back and forth first verse where the two go as far as finishing each others sentences - not something experimented with on the rest of this project. The beat on here isn't hugely stand out, but with lines like "candied yams inside my tummy" and "I'm plagued by vegetarians", it's difficult not to love this one. And it has a positive message, so we've got to give it props for that. 

13. Go Ahead In the Rain

Over a beat that sounds like a cross between '90s g-funk and early '80s hip-hop, Q-Tip provides some really dope flows and lyrics over the course of two verses broken up by a sample break and not much else. Whenever I hear this I'm reminded of the beats that Tech N9ne rapped over in his The Calm Before the Storm: Part 1 era, which is a good thing, and Q-Tip helps with stopping that distraction by sounding nothing like Tech N9ne at all. He's still dope on here, mind, and despite its simplisticness this is one of the more underrated cuts on the album in my opinion. The rain sound effects at the end were a nice touch too. 

14. Description Of a Fool

Released as a single when Tribe first signed their contract with Jive, making this what I believe to be the first song released with the A Tribe Called Quest badging on it. Still, don't expect to hear Phife show up on here, because you'll be sorely disappointed. What you won't be disappointed with is the song itself - because it's great. The instrumental on here is chilled out and wavy, and fits the vibe of this album perfectly, and Q-Tip's second verse is one of my favourites on the whole record - that storytelling is pretty hilarious, no? Also, the instrumental playing out at the end is a nice touch to end the record on. In case you can't tell, I really, really like this track. 

I'm a huge fan of A Tribe Called Quest's debut album. If you ask me this is one of the most fun, inventive, chilled out records in hip-hop history (that I've heard), and even though there are signature Tribe elements missing from some of these songs, I still think it deserves every ounce of praise it gets and more. Firstly, the beats on here are consistently excellent - they sound forward thinking, are fairly diverse, and above all are really just enjoyable to listen to. Mixing hard drums with jazzy melodies and instrumentation has worked wonders over the years, and these types of beats are in abundance here. And then we come to Tip's rapping - while his flow doesn't switch up a whole lot throughout this record, I think that his lyrics, voice and the flow itself being good all make up for this. Q-Tip proves to be a great rapper with hilarious lines, great subject matter and appropriate annunciation on here, and he fits perfectly over these beats. This means that this album is incredibly consistent with a huge amount of great songs, and none that don't work (even if a couple lack replay value for me). The record scratching that appears all over this album is just the cherry on top. People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm is a fantastic debut from the Tribe, and while Phife is missed here, everything else works almost as well as it would on their next two records. This is an underrated release to me, and the perfect start to one of the most consistently great catalogues in the history of hip-hop. 

Best Tracks: Push It Along, Luck Of Lucien, After Hours, I Left My Wallet In El Segundo, Bonita Applebum, Can I Kick It?, Youthful Expression, Description Of a Fool

Worst Tracks: Mr. Muhammad

More on the work of Tribe to come!

The Lil Wayne Discography, pt. 2 - Lights Out

In my last one of these, which I uploaded two or three weeks ago, I expressed my contempt for Lil' Wayne's debut solo LP, Tha Block Is Hot, an album that I found to be both boring and terrible simultaneously. It wasn't awful enough to be entertaining, nor was it bad enough to be a notable release in the genre. But it also wasn't quite good enough to class as mediocre - instead, this album was very bland with an unfortunate amount of terrible moments, most of which were in the form of a chorus or uninspired guest verse. The one positive I could take from the album aside from the slim pickings of highlights was the fact that Wayne himself was the best part about it. I mean, he wasn't great - the subject matter was often dull and he didn't do much to elevate that content in a funny or meaningful way - but he was serviceable most of the time, and I did enjoy a decent amount of his dirty South flows. He also was clearly a lot better than some of his Cash Money brethren, which did allow him to stand out on some of the group tracks on the record. 

It's for this reason that I haven't lost hope when it comes to Wayne's second effort, Lights Out, an album that has a cover which actually seems to have been made with the idea of coming across as menacing in mind - the graphics are still bad, but at least this cover doesn't make me want to stifle a laugh, like the one for Tha Block Is Hot did. This album is actually one of the projects I am anticipating most in this run-through of Weezy's discography, since I like the title, and I also enjoyed the song "Wish You Would" a decent amount - a song I checked out randomly when I first made the decision to listen to a bit of Wayne's work. And, while it's still as bloated as a 50 year old man from Alabama, this tracklist does at least appear to contain less in the way of features - that's a good thing when the go-to guests on the last album were Birdman, BG and Mannie Fresh. One big negative of this album is that it's once again produced in its entirety by the aforementioned Mannie Fresh, who's production on the last album was bloody abominable for the most part. That little statistic doesn't exactly fill me with hope, I'll tell you. 

Still, as you can tell, I am interested in this project, and I intend to go into it with an open mind once again. Yes, the debut was pretty whack, but Wayne's had time to grow since then, and so maybe it'll pay off this time. Maybe, just maybe, this album will be good. We can hope, can't we?

All songs are produced by Mannie Fresh. 

1. Intro (Watch Them People)

Some ominous music plays in the background as a man with that stereotypical White American voice says some swearwords at me. How nice. 

2. Get Off the Corner

The first actual song on here was also one of the singles, and despite Wayne's insistence on squeaking out some of his vocals as if someone was pinching his neck at random moments in the verses, the track as a whole is actually pretty great. Mannie Fresh's instrumental on this track is engaging, and keeps things interesting by continuously switching up every eight bars or so, and while some of his vocal inflections were questionable, Weezy's flow was nice on here, and his lyrics weren't half bad either. "Ball 'til I fall, one thing, I ain't tryna fall" was a personal favourite, but there were lots of other great bars on this track too that are worth going into for. And yes it goes on for too long, I know, but the track almost does justify it, which is more than can be said for anything on Tha Block Is Hot. This is a pretty dope cut. 

3. On the Grind

Another fairly good song, although I can't say I enjoyed it as much as the opener, and that's all thanks to the absolutely horrific chorus, which easily stands as one of the weakest I've heard on any song, ever. I mean, the opening line to said chorus is literally "I tell 'em waahhh!!", and when your host gangster rapper is making baby noises that can never be a good sign. Ignoring the horrible chorus, the verses on this song were actually really dope in my opinion, with nice flows and lyrics about drug dealing, and the instrumental was dope as hell, probably the best element of the track. Yeah, I actually liked this song. 

4. Hit U Up (feat. Hot Boys)

Surprisingly great for a posse cut consisting of Cash Money artists only. The instrumental on this track could have used a little more variation during the verses, as it didn't feel energetic enough to carry through the song's five minute duration, but that's not a huge issue since the instrumental itself isn't really that bad. The verses on this one come from Turk (who I actually thought was Wayne at first since they sounded so similar), Juvenile, B.G. and Wayne himself, and out of all of them I honestly think our host did the best, despite some pretty random and nonsensical lyrics in there ("I'll turn your forehead to a pussy boy" being a prime example). The chorus was also solid, and the three other artists did their thing, especially Juvi, who in my opinion seems to be kind of an overhated rapper. This was pretty solid. 

5. Everything

Bit more of a sappy one here, as Weezy dedicates this one to his deceased stepfather, affectionately referred to as Rabbit throughout the track. There were a couple of emotional tracks during the previous album, but none that appeared this early on in the tracklist, and I actually think that this song would have worked better if it had appeared a bit later in the album, but whatever - it's still good, if definitely not the best song here. The main issue is that I feel like Wayne doesn't necessarily do these softer cuts as well, and also the production doesn't feel rich enough to warrant any emotions coming through on my part. I will say, however, that the chorus on here did kind of get to me, especially the repetition of "I know". Yeah, this song is great, but not really the best emotional song you can find out there. 

6. Fuck Wit Me Now

Damn, that song was good. On this one, Weezy really speeds things up with a flow that almost reminded me of Tech N9ne at points - and if you know me, then you know that that's a good thing. The instrumental on this one from Mannie was excellent too, with these intense synth sounds and fast-paced drums that make this sound much more modern than it really is. And that hook was phenomenal too. And finally, this track didn't feel like it went on for too long, like most of the other songs so far have. Yeah, there isn't much else to say - this is definitely my favourite track so far. 

7. Lil One (feat. Big Tymers)

I must confess that when I saw that Big Tymers feature, I was pretty worried that we were gonna be in for something whack, but I was proved immensely wrong on that account by this song right here that creatively and musically blows pretty much everything on Tha Block Is Hot out of the metaphorical water. This track seems like a Cash Money version of Jay-Z & Memphis Bleek's "Coming Of Age", in that it reads as a conversation between Lil Wayne and Birdman, with the former being the little kid on the street, and the latter being the big time hustler who's already made his fortune. The pair even have little arguments at points, which was fun to hear, and my God is this beat nice. This was another massive highlight for me. 

8. Break Me Off (feat. Big Tymers & Unplugged)

Aside from the last line of Mannie Fresh's verse, which I've got to say made me laugh, everything else here was utterly horrific, especially Lil Wayne's opening verse, which literally made me want to punch the dude in the face with a metal glove on. Oh, and the beat on here was pretty cool too - a bit overly loud, maybe, but still enjoyable enough. Unfortunately, the sexual subject matter, grotesque and mostly unfunny lyrics, and rubbish chorus from Unplugged completely ruined this one. Still, it's taken us to track 8 to find a stinker, which is waaay better than what we had with his debut. 

9. Skit

A humorous skit in which the guy from the intro tells us to stop bootlegging cassettes and get the damn CD already. This was actually pretty funny, if overly explicit. 

10. Wish You Would

This was the one song I had already heard from this album, and I still think it sounds good today. The instrumental is like a slightly less brilliant version of the one on "Back That Azz Up" by Juvenile, and Wayne makes full use of it, utilising some of his dopest flows and rhyme schemes yet to threaten the listener with gun violence and the other things you can pretty much expect of Wayne at this point. This song isn't the most thought-provoking or interesting thing you're going to find, but it is at least entertaining, and I'm pretty sure that's all this album aims to do anyway. 

11. Grown Man

Aside from the intro being pretty much corny as hell, this song was actually really stellar in my opinion. On this track, Weezy talks about similar subject matter to that on "Up To Me" from his last album, only here I think he tackles it better, and over some more powerful production too. Honestly, this is one of the most thought-provoking and expensive sounding beats Mannie Fresh has made throughout the course of these first two albums. And rest assured Weezy does his thing on this one too - his verses are pretty great, with lots of nice lines (as an example - "y'all don't really know me, you just know about me") and a chorus that really sticks with you. Yeah, this was a really potent track. 

12. Shine (feat. Hot Boys)

The big single from the album, and if I'm honest I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand the chorus is pretty catchy, Juvenile sounds good on this beat and the instrumental is really unique on this album. On the other hand, the beat is way too repetitive to last well for five whole minutes, Weezy's verse straight up fucking sucks, and as a whole this song felt almost like the music to a 1990s cheap video game, only with more profanity. I don't know, man. This song just kind of weirded me out, but it also wasn't exactly bad, so that's something. 

13. Jump Jiggy

Well that's an interesting song title. This smooth cut with it's incredibly sweet production from Mannie Fresh was presumably one intended for the clubs, albeit the small Caribbean ones you see in James Bond movies. Unfortunately, Weezy doesn't entirely do the beat justice, as the chorus on this thing is both repetitive and horrible, which for obvious reasons isn't a good mix, and the third verse is vulgar in a nonchalant way, making it pretty difficult to listen to. Still, Wayne's first two verses and the beat keep this one well away from being considered bad in my eyes. 

14. Realized

This is one of the most aggressive cuts on the whole album, and also one of the most notable for including a pretty interesting Master P diss that utilises a fill-in-the-blank to full effect. The fact that the two most money hungry and generic labels of the late '90s and early 2000s actually had beef is pretty funny to me - still, I suppose it's better than the two working together. Anyhow, I liked this track a lot, as Mannie's beat was dark and effective, the chorus was nice, and there were some dope lines in here too, especially "Weezy got more white than the Backstreet Boys", which almost made me laugh out loud in the college library. This song is dope. 

15. Tha Blues

On this one, Wayne attempts to re-create a similar tune to "Lights Off" from the last album - a track with a soft guitar based beat that contradicts said beat lyrically by being all about guns and murdering you muh'fuckers. He needn't have bothered with that though - largely because "Lights Off" was kind of a terrible song, but also because I wasn't entirely sure about this one either. This album is getting ridiculously long at this stage, and this track is the first to make me feel that length. I don't dislike this song at all, but I don't think I'll find any replay value in it either. 

16. Let's Go (feat. Big Tymers)

Sporting a title straight out of the Big Book of All Things Generic, this song was actually pretty great, even if Birdman's presence brought it down a bit for obvious reasons. I mean, this guy literally sounded like he was going to fall asleep on the song, and you can't blame him - imagine having to recite these lyrics while drunk, high, carrying a body bag AND ordering several expensive watches online! Still, I absolutely loved this beat, and I really liked Wayne's performance on it too. Even the hook was great. A surprisingly really enjoyable song.

17. Biznite

A terrible, terrible song in which Wayne accounts three meetings with women - sorry, "Biznites" - that all end with him telling them they're a good for nothing piece of shit. I mean, Wayne's sleepy delivery is bad enough, but my God could you get any more misogynistic? This song is absolutely horrible. 

18. Act A Ass (feat. B.G.)

Over an instrumental that uses the same sample as Tech N9ne's "Planet Rock 2K (Down South Mix)", plus a bunch of other random sound effects that don't really work in context, Wayne and B.G. describe their favourite sexual moments and acts. The song sounds like falling into a pile of sweets, mashed up courgettes, horn beetle grubs and pieces of 1958 machinery, and that's to say - it's a complete mess. Not much else to say here really. 

19. Beef

Wayne chooses to end the album by reinforcing the idea that he is a hardcore thug that's not to be messed with - 'cause, you know, we hadn't heard enough about that on the album yet. The track itself doesn't entirely suffer from the redundant subject matter, though - Weezy's actual flow is slick as hell on here, and I must confess that I adored Mannie Fresh's triumphant instrumental, which pretty much felt like the perfect music to close off any album with. I wasn't in love with the content on this one, but I think it was presented in such a way where the song managed to work anyway. A good way to close the album. 

Even though it had obvious flaws and isn't a great album by any means, Lights Out is, at least in my opinion, a huge improvement over Wayne's debut Tha Block Is Hot. The project does admittedly carry over quite a few of the flaws of that album, however, so let's get those out of the way first. Flaw number one - this album is way too long. 75 minutes for 80% thug lyrics and 20% personal content can get pretty tiresome, especially in the second half when it feels like every song is about the same thing, and even before then it wasn't like I was ever interested in the project's direction. And the second major issue is that the songs themselves are all too long as well. With the exception of the intriguing "Lil One", every song here follows the same basic structure, and this is a problem when each song is between 4 and 5 minutes, and doesn't follow any kind of storyline or theme that's worth spending the time on. Oh, and did I mention the redundancy of this project's subject matter? So yeah, this album is nowhere near perfect, and if you're looking for a truly interesting front to end listen then you'd better turn elsewhere. So, what exactly does work? Well, for starters, Mannie Fresh's production here is a huge step up from what we heard on Tha Block Is Hot - it's actually crazy how much this man improved in the course of one year. I mean, these beats aren't perfect, and a lot of them still sound ever so slightly cheap, but the melodies are great, the bass is always pounding, and the drums are brilliant too. I honestly don't think there was a bad beat on here until we got to the utterly cacophonous "Act A Ass", and that was right at the end anyway! And then we have Wayne - where the man was merely a mediocre rapper on the last album, here he proves to be more than that, offering lots of pretty great punchlines and dope flows that keep things interesting for the most part. Aside from the content itself, Wayne's presentation is fun, well-timed, and often impressive to listen to when you consider that he was only 18 years old at the time of recording. And for every bad chorus on here, there's a great one to follow. So while this album isn't a great front-to-end experience, it still proves entertaining for the most part, and individually most of the songs work well. Yeah, this is a cool album in my opinion. Nice work Weezy!

Best Track: "Grown Man"

Worst Track: "Biznite"

73%

Catch up on more Wayne over here.

Murs-athon pt. 15 - The Final Adventure

Followers of the Murs catalogue should know by now that from 2004 onwards, every two years there had been a ten track collaborative record between Murs himself and producer 9th Wonder released to the public - they weren't always the main focus of the man's career (Sweet Lord, for example, was pretty much released as a promotional tool for his solo major label debut Murs For President), but they were always something the underground hip-hop audience could look forward to when they entered a new year that ended with an even number. 

So when in 2012, the pair announced they were to release their last collaborative piece, the hip-hop world was very sad. I think. Of course, it's entirely plausible that no-one actually cared, as the reception to their previous project together Fornever had been lukewarm at best, even though I enjoyed it personally. A lot of people were even saying that Murs had entered a rough spot in his career - even though it's difficult to believe that people could hate the wonderful Love & Rockets Vol 1: The Transformation, some still did, and it's fair to say that Murs wasn't feeling the poor reviews on his work at all. Therefore, he must have decided to re-invent himself a bit to appease to a potential new audience, and this meant that the series of albums with 9th Wonder was to be concluded. And so, on November 13th of 2012, Nicholas Carter and Patrick Douthit released The Final Adventure on the latter's own Jamla Records - and I'm sure the title alone struck fear into the hearts of underground heads everywhere. 

Like with all of their previous albums, The Final Adventure is produced in its entirety by 9th Wonder, and aside from a guest appearance on the opening song by Rapsody (a very early-stage career move from her), all the tracks' vocals are handled by Murs. The CD art for this album isn't great if I'm being honest, with a couple of kids walking though one of those LA viaducts I always associate with The Terminator 2, but what does excite me is a) the song "Whatuptho" - not because of the title, but because I've actually already heard the song, and it's great - and b) the generally positive reception on this project - from what I'm seeing people took a lot more kindly to this than some of the other Murs projects released beforehand, and that's always a good sign. Am I excited about this album, then? Yes. Very excited. 

Oh, and before I start this review, I want to say that I'm thinking of doing a Murs-athon Series 2, where I cover all of the collaborative albums with other vocalists that appear in his catalogue, since I've been enjoying his solo work so much. Please let me know if that's something you would like to see, and if there's anything else you feel deserves an introduction on the blog, then feel free to drop it in the comments. 

Anyhow, let's get this one going!

All songs are produced by 9th Wonder.

1. Get Together (feat. Rapsody)

Over an engaging and very tight 9th instrumental, Rapsody takes up a large portion of screen time discussing her admiration for Murs, and also the lyrical prowess that she herself has, and it's pretty bloody great - she's got a powerful voice, great flow and excellent lyrics that made for a highly intriguing performance - that reference to Dr. House made me laugh too. The sooner I check out her work, the better, it seems. Murs pops up again at the end (after dropping a bit of spoken word at the start) to deliver a passionate and braggadocios verse that I was just completely in love with - "what up tho? You know I had to say it". This was a brilliant way to start up the album, and the short length only added to the intense atmosphere. Great track. 

2. Whatuptho

This is the one song on the album that I have already heard, and I can safely say that it is a classic Murs joint. The beat from 9th Wonder is poignant and celebratory, and I love it, and Murs does it justice by dropping three verses full of fantastically quotable lines, and a chorus that will stick in your head for days after you first hear the song. A personal favourite line would be the one where he shouts out "green tea drinkers", since that covers yours truly, but I'd have to say the best lyric on here would be "Ain't no difference between a gangbanger and Malcolm X - the same anger / just misdirected, now neighbourhoods infected / so I gotta speak the truth, by the youth I've been selected". That is just one of the best lyrics Murs has ever spit. Yeah, this song is brilliant, and perfectly justifies the weight of its title. 

3. Funeral For A Killer

Holy shit I did not expect that. So, I don't know if anyone's seen Murs' podcast Best Rapper In L.A., but it's something I have found loads of interest in listening to, and a podcast I have become very familiar with throughout the months since I started this Murs-athon. What I did not know was that the intro music used for every episode of that podcast is actually taken from the instrumental of this song. And what's super weird is that the music did not feel like it fit this song at all - maybe it's the fact that I'm used to it in the podcast, but to me it definitely sounds more like a little introduction piece than something that could fill out a whole song, especially one with lyrics as powerful as this. Still, I enjoyed this a lot, as Murs' lyrics that talk about how he still gets upset at a friend's death despite them being a killer in real life are pretty powerful, and the hook was dark too. Unfortunately, the instrumental on this one meant that I couldn't really have the proper first listen that I would have liked. 

4. Baby Girl (Holding Hands)

The instrumental found on this track kinda reminded me of some of the more unorthodox beats we heard on Murray's Revenge, only it's just not really as good. Yeah, I wasn't entirely sure about this beat - there were elements I enjoyed, but I had to really concentrate to pick them out, and with a dope beat you shouldn't really have to do that. Still, you could say the same about the vocals - I really didn't care for the hook on here, provided by an uncredited Khrysis, and the lyrical content from Murs about falling in love with a girl whilst in third grade was, I don't know, corny, and also slightly uncomfortable. The song isn't bad, since Murs' passionate delivery is still there - this is way better than anything on Sweet Lord for example - but I'm still not entirely convinced by this song. 

5. Walk Like A Woman

Presumably, this six-minute plus track is going to serve as a sequel or companion piece to the brilliant song "Walk Like a Man" from earlier in Murs' career - let's see if it delivers. Oh right - it fucking didn't. This song was six minutes long, but unfortunately it never really clicked with me fully at any point. There was a beat switch in the middle of this one, but going from one bland soul-sample beat into another midway through just to continue on the same basic lyrical tangent isn't going to make the song much more interesting, Murs, dammit!! Honestly, I might have enjoyed this tale of Murs' journey to marriage a bit more if he didn't give it such a name - aside from having a beat switch this is the polar opposite of "Walk Like a Man", and not exactly in a good way either. Sorry, Murs, but I didn't feel this too much. 

6. Tale of Two Cities

Thankfully, this song picked the quality up, and then not only put it back to a good level but lifted it right up into "brilliant" territory - I loved this song. The track drops the lovey-dovey content of the previous couple of songs, and instead talks about gang violence in Los Angeles, and different paths the people could take in order to solve it and bring it to a stop. 9th Wonder's instrumental was powerful, especially the little harmonica hits in there, and Murs' lyricism was profound and insightful - "the future's in our reach, find solutions to the beef / get every shooter in the streets to ride for universal peace". All I can say is "phew" - I thought this album was going to a dark place for a second there. 

7. Dance With Me

Well that song title doesn't look promising. Thankfully, this song was brilliant - Murs' lyrics were really powerful and hit hard, and the instrumental enhanced them in the best way. This song wasn't a corny diatribe of Murs asking some random girl he'd met to "dance" like I thought it would be - instead it was an interesting account of a girl he was friends with whom he kind of had feelings for, but didn't know whether it was a good idea to start a relationship. Eventually they did, it tumbled down, and then they weren't really friends anymore. Sure, the content doesn't scream "L.A. hardcore rapper", but I still found it really interesting, and I loved the beat as well. Honestly, this was one of my favourite tracks on the whole record. 

8. Better Way

This was also a very interesting track, one only slightly hindered by the presence of a repetitive hook that really did not need to be recited twice at the very end. On this song, Murs discusses religion, and how even though he was bought up a Christian he doesn't necessarily entirely believe in the existence of God now. The beat on here was pretty great, and I found Murs' lyrics very relatable - my parents are both pretty much atheist, but sometimes things happen and I'm just not entirely convinced that there's nothing out there. I definitely don't believe in the whole nativity scene, nor the Adam and Eve story, but sometimes I am swayed by theories of re-incarnation - it just seems crazy to me that there is literally nothing after you die. Whatever, I'm going off on one now. Point is, the song is great. There we go.

9. Wherever You Are

Murs spits a one verse wonder over a dramatic and slightly depressing beat, that seems to discuss him meeting a woman, and then becoming confused when she introduces him to eMail. The powerful ending to the track is slightly tainted by the ridiculousness of some of the lyrics in the middle - I mean, why the hell are you focusing on your incompetence with the internet when you're supposed to be discussing love? Still, I did find this song very entertaining, and 9th did a great job once again. Nice stuff.

10. It's Over

Well, that was my fucking favourite song on the whole album. The instrumental on this song was absolute perfection, and Murs absolutely destroyed it with a passionate and heartfelt performance that included three different verses discussing completely different subject matters, with one common theme - the situation is now over. The first verse talks to an ex-girlfriend who would not stop trying to contact him even though the relationship was long finished, and the second verse is about someone who keeps trying to leech off of Murs and his fame, forgetting that he should be making a name for himself just like Murs did all those years ago. The third and final verse that ends the song on an abrupt note is all about Murs' relationship with 9th Wonder, and it's this verse that hits the most, or at least it would if the pair hadn't teamed up twice more for full-length albums - yes, the saga of Murs and 9th does continue, so don't worry about that. However, even if this was the last song they had released I couldn't have been hurt - this is seriously one of the dopest Murs songs in existence. 

I'll admit something - by the time we reached track 5, I was getting quite worried about this album. I loved the first two songs, and I kinda liked track three despite the issues I had with the beat (which was more my fault for listening to that podcast before this album). However, tracks 4 and 5 didn't move me in the way that I would have liked, and both of these songs were standing around the 6/10 area to me - honestly I would give "Walk Like a Woman" more of a 5, which is a pretty damned low rating for a Murs song. However, as soon as we reached the second half this suddenly became a great, consistent, excellent album. The last five songs are not only diverse and musically interesting, but also feature incredibly passionate vocal performances from Murs - one thing I did notice about this project was the fact that Murs sounded very excited to be working on it. In fact, I would say that this was his best rapping performance on an album since Murray's Revenge - and that's pretty high praise. There wasn't any song on here that was quite as good as "Animal Style", "Walk Like a Man" or "God's Work", but nonetheless as an album it worked together really well, and I think I'll probably enjoy those two songs I was questionable about more on future listens, knowing that the album really picks up in the second half. God, I was getting worried about this thing. Thankfully, it turned out to be just what I wanted from Murs - a dope and unique selection of instrumentals covered with relatable lyrics spoken with a passionate delivery that was even more emphasised than usual on this album right here. It would have been a tough thing to accept that Murs and 9th Wonder were ending their streak, but at the same time this project serves as a fitting end to their legacy, blending the sounds of all the albums that made them great, and ignoring the corny, uninspired bullshit that was Sweet Lord (and yes, I still hate that album). I'm very happy with this project, and I'll enjoy spending time with it up until I get to the next Murs solo effort, released three years later. See ya!

Expectations: Matched

Best Track: "It's Over"

Worst Track: "Walk Like a Woman"

Make sure to view some of my other Murs write-ups over here!

OutKast - Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik

Well, I didn't realize second year of college would be this time consuming! Please forgive me if I'm not being too consistent with the reviews at the moment - I've got a ton of work to do! Anyway, since I spent the last post heavily criticizing Lil Wayne's debut album, I thought I'd show the South some much deserved love in this post. Enjoy!

In the mid 1990s, hip-hop wasn't exactly the most welcoming culture to get into. Sure, the music was pretty fantastic most of the time, but if you weren't an African American man hailing from either New York or Los Angeles, you would probably have a pretty damned difficult time getting the listeners and your peers to take you seriously. And for two teenage rappers hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, this was a big problem. 

Andre "Andre 3000" Benjamin and Antwan "Big Boi" Patton were two young and developing Southern MC's who were actually rivals whilst at high school together - this all changed when their teacher obviously implemented an alphabetical seating plan, forcing the pair to work together, and discover that their styles actually meshed really damn well. They quickly formed a rapping duo that went by the rather uninspired name of The Misfits - thankfully this was soon changed to the much more interesting OutKast - and their promising demos allowed them to sign with LaFace records in order to release their music to a wider audience. Their breakthrough occurred when they were invited to appear on their new label's compilation album A La Face Family Christmas, and did so in the form of the song "Player's Ball", which quickly became a hit among fans of hip-hop who weren't averse to two Southerners weighing in on the East and West dominated field. The track's success meant that LaFace had to of course quickly commission a full album from the duo, and so the pair teamed up with production group Organized Noize to create the first album in the much loved OutKast catalogue - the ridiculously titled Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. Now that's a mouthful. 

As I just stated, the album was produced in its entirety by Organized Noize, who consisted of Sleepy Brown, Rico Wade and Ray Murray, the former of whom also showed up on the album multiple times to lend hook vocals, with mostly successful results - well, the guy did go on to contribute to a lot more of their music in the future, so they must have seen his vocals as having some use. Other than him, the only guest appearances were by the foul foursome that is Goodie Mob, back then spelling their title as "The Goody Mob" if the liner notes of this album are anything to go by. Khujo, T-Mo, Cee-Lo and Big Gipp (couldn't he have ended his name with an "o" sound too?) all pop up on here for a verse each over the course of two different songs, but other than them it was up to our two host MC's to hold things down. So let's give them a formal introduction.

Big Boi is the chap on the left of this (truly horrible) album cover, and he is generally seen as the more level-headed member of the duo. Some see this as a negative, as he perhaps never got as experimental as his partner in rhyme, nor was he always as clever lyrically, but I see it as more of a good thing that he was there to keep OutKast from entirely spiraling out of control during the Stankonia era - no, that inevitability was eventually realised around the time Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was released in 2003, but that's a story for another day. And surely everyone knows about that other chap - Andre 3000, even if they weren't aware that his moniker was simply "Dre" until about the year 2000. The man was truly a special kind of rapper, with a vocal delivery and experimental side that had never been seen before in the genre, and also an undeniable skill when it came to writing some of the most clever verses hip-hop had ever seen. This guy was truly the definition of weird & wonderful. Back in 1994, however, the pair of them were both just young chaps from Atlanta who thought that because they'd chatted a girl up at a bar once that month that they were certified players who had the right to spend half of the album bragging about themselves and their expertise at everything. 

Just kidding. The album's pretty great, actually. 

Every song is produced by Organized Noize.

1. Peaches (Intro)

As long as the rap album intro doesn't stretch over the minute mark then I can tolerate it just fine. This one has nice music too, which is always a bonus. 

2. Myintrotoletuknow

I guess the pair weren't content with joining together all of the words in their album title - no, they had to do it with their opening song too. This might have annoyed me if the song was pretentious or annoying, but actually it's anything but - this song absolutely positively rocks, and is a brilliant way to introduce 'Kast to the listening public. Over a hardcore instrumental that gives off a very gritty but also triumphant vibe, the two get to ripping it up and letting you know what's up, and while I really like the way Big Boi opens things up on here, it's Andre who stands out, with one of the most phenomenal verses he's spit over the course of his career. There are so many quotables it's impossible to list, but I do especially like "you won't be getting away this time, I'm real as hell, so what's up". And who the hell would have expected the line "I rip shit with pimp shit, I'm slingin' it from the South, talk bad about the A-town, I'll bust you in your f!&%in' mouth" to come from Andre 3000 of all people? Then again, this whole song is completely detached from OutKast's later music - in the best way possible, that is. I love this track.

3. Ain't No Thang

And shockingly, this song is actually even better than the first one. "Ain't No Thang" is a standout in OutKast's discography for having a lot of references to gun violence, and how the pair of them are going to commit it upon you, the (most likely) innocent listener. Now, I've never particularly loved the glorification of violence in hip-hop music (which is one of the reasons I can't really stand most of the music from G-Unit), but when it's once in a blue moon the effects can be truly powerful. And that's the case with this song, arguably my favourite from this whole entire album. The instrumental on here contrasts with that of the last by being quite skeletal and bleak-sounding, but still being absolutely incredible in every way. I mean, have you heard that bass? It's so great, and the echoey drums just add to the menacing soundscape presented here. On their first album, OutKast's song structures do admittedly feel a bit amateur, with this one having four verses (two each), all of which are separated by a chorus, but when the beats, rhymes and chorus are this good? It's a blessing that it lasts so long. And trust me, while they're not insightful or very meaningful, these bars are still dope as hell. One of my favourite songs ever, full stop. 

4. Welcome to Atlanta (Interlude)

Unlike the intro, which felt fairly justified in its placement, this interlude didn't help with the album experience in any way, like it was clearly supposed to. This will become a recurring theme. 

5. Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik

One thing that I've noticed that I'm sure no-one else has is that OutKast have quite a large number of title tracks in their catalogue - the only album that doesn't incorporate the album title into a song name would be Speakerboxxx. One other thing this song taught me was that the title is actually pronounced "Southern Playalistic Cadillac Music", not "Southern Playa Listic-erdillac Music" like I once thought. The title track on here was also one of the singles released for the album, and it's yet another fantastic song, even if it's more radio-friendly atmosphere makes me enjoy it slightly less than the previous two actual songs. I mean, the beat on here feels like a straight rip-off of that on "Player's Ball", but still, at least it had the sense to rip off something dope. Big Boi starts the song off with an infamous "it's the M-I-Crooked Letter" (which he would use again in their song "ATLiens"), and the song continues on a good note from there, with great rhymes ("time to drop these 'bows like Dusty Rhodes, then I yell, "Ho" / and knock 'em up off they feet like a Southern hustler 'posed to do!") and an incredibly catchy chorus too. Nice stuff.

6. Call of Da Wild (feat. The Goody Mob)

Goodie Mob appear twice on this album, but on both songs only two members show up for verses - here it's Khujo and T-Mo, with the other two popping up on a later cut. However, Cee-Lo provides a chorus for us on here anyway, and it's one that's grown on me immensely. When I first heard the track, I thought the chorus kind of ruined it, but now I enjoy it a hell of a lot more. Andre begins this song with a fantastic verse that runs on for a while but is incredibly impressive nonetheless, and then T-Mo comes through with a manically aggressive and potent performance that might be my favourite on the whole track. Unfortunately, Big Boi and Khujo don't mesh with the beat quite as well as the two others, but it's not like they're bad - it's just that Andre and T-Mo where that good. Oh, and this menacing beat is one of the dopest on the album too. And ever think you'd hear the words "horrid" and "hatemonger" on the same Southern aggressive posse cut? Because I didn't, and here it is. 

7. Player's Ball (Original)

OutKast's very first single, and while they would improve with the lead singles on some of their later releases, this is still a pretty damn good track. This is presumably labelled as the original either because the remix was the one that appeared in the video, and they wanted people to make sure they knew what version they were getting, or because there's a "reprise" of the song later on. The instrumental on here is chilled out and yet keeps up a certain energy throughout the track, and Andre and Big both absolutely kill this beat with some brilliant flows and some subtle hints to the Christmas period in there, since that is what the song was made for in the first place. Oh, and the Sleepy Brown hook? Absolutely brilliant. Kind of like the song. "It's beginning to look a lot like, what?!"

8. Claimin' True

After that jolly, upbeat track, OutKast evidently needed something to appeal to the folks from the streets, and so this is a song all about keepin' it real, and being honest about your street pedigree. Oh, and it's pretty fantastic too. The instrumental on this thing is one of the more melancholy on the album, and if most rappers tried their hand at it I would probably find the song bland. Thankfully, Andre and Big Boi both ride this beat perfectly, with some brilliant lines and flows that stand as some of the best on the LP. Big Boi's hook is also one of the catchiest in OutKast's catalogue. Sure, the instrumental on here isn't one of my favourites, but everything else about this track bangs.

9. Club Donkey Ass (Interlude)

I mean, I know it's supposed to set up the next track, but did we really need to hear this skit? No? Then why the fuck put it on here??

10. Funky Ride

Upon my first listen of this album, I was disappointed to find that this track features no contributions from Dre or Big Boi at all - instead, it's a six-and-a-half minute behemoth of a croon-fest performed by a group called Society Of Soul, who also did the hook on the title track here I believe. On my first few listens I found this a bit of an overlong dud, but over time it's grown on me to the point where I look forward to it on every listen. Those melodies are just nice, man. Who said I only listen to rap music?

11. Flim Flam (Interlude)

This interlude is a little bit more interesting than the previous two on here, but that's really not saying much if we're being honest. 

12. Git Up, Git Out (feat. The Goody Mob)

The third and final single released for this album also happens to be the longest in OutKast's entire career, at well over seven minutes. Damn! Still, it's a testament to this song's greatness that this track never gets boring - quite the opposite in fact, as all four verses on this track are some of the best I've heard from this era. Cee-Lo Green provides an indelible (I always wanted to use that word) chorus that sticks in your head like the cocaine you just sniffed before reading this write-up, and follows it up with a rapped verse that I wasn't aware the man known for some often nasally singing and not much else was capable of. If it wasn't for Dre closing this one off in the best way, I would state that Cee-Lo's verse was the strongest here. Big Gipp (what a name!) and Big Boi predictably kill it too, and my God is this instrumental great. So great, apparently, that Big Boi practically nicked it for his later track "West Savannah" on OutKast's Aquemini. C'mon, y'all telling me you don't hear that? This is easily one of the dopest songs here, and one of the best motivational hip-hop tracks in history. "You need to get up, get out and get something / how will you make it if you never even try?"

13. True Dat (Interlude)

Big Rube provides the first of many spoken word poetry pieces over his career. This one is backed up by less poignant music than his later ones, though, giving it a nicer, more light-hearted atmosphere. 

14. Crumblin' Erb

Now, I don't want to sound like a cynic, but unless an album is actually perfect, I probably will try to pick out a weakest song somewhere. That's just the critic in me. And for Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, this is the song that earns that title for me. I'm sorry, OK? This track is still pretty great, mind - not only is the song title hilarious as hell, but the instrumental is pleasant to listen to, and the subject matter about stopping the violence and chilling out instead are great to hear, even from people who threatened to "wet (me) up like cereal" and "put the .357 to (my) forehead" just earlier on in the album. My main problem with this one is Sleepy Brown's chorus - it's not bad, but it's a bit too soft and not catchy enough to make up for that. Still, the worst of a brilliant bunch isn't necessarily a bad place to be. 

15. Hootie Hoo

Production-wise, this is a complete departure from the other work of Organized Noize on this project, and while all those other beats have been dope as hell, this is still easily one of the greatest here. This instrumental is bass-heavy, cold, dark and unbelievably menacing - I mean, it's like OutKast are rapping to you whilst holding you at knife-point in a dark Atlanta alleyway (if such a thing exists - I've never visited before). I absolutely love this beat, both during Big Boi's first verse when it's just the bass and ominous hi-hat hits, and when the dusty drum loop finally comes in during the first chorus. I can understand why some see this as too skeletal, but I personally think it's perfection, and a classic beat for sure. Oh, and the rhymes? They're pretty great too. While Big Boi masters his flow with perfection, Andre focuses on telling a story about accidentally getting someone pregnant and ignoring it, which is... nice. Still, his storytelling abilities are undeniably great here, and the reciting of the chorus is just the cherry on top. Classic stuff.

16. D.E.E.P.

While "Ain't No Thang" is without doubt my most played song from this LP, "D.E.E.P." is probably the best track objectively, and the one I tend to be most impressed by when listening to it. First of all, this aggressive, pulsating beat is one of the most potent on the whole record, and sounds gritty yet perfectly aged - and I'll admit now that "Hootie Hoo"'s beat didn't age very well at all. Then, we have the rhymes - this is another song where both MC's get two full verses each, separated by a hook every time, and once again it works, despite that formula often getting monotonous with other team ups. Of course, the main reason why everybody remembers this one is because of that utterly brilliant third verse, where Andre takes the issues of racial profiling and spits it back in the bigots' faces - it's truly one of the greatest verses in hip-hop history, and if you haven't heard it, you'd better check it out. And check the whole song while you're at it - it's easily one of the best cuts here. 

17. Player's Ball (Reprise)

OutKast ends the album with a Sleepy Brown solo version of the project's big single. This is actually a pretty interesting way to close things up, and it sounds nice too, which is always a bonus. 

Jesus, OutKast were good. Even at their least creative, the pair were able to put together a masterpiece of Southern hip-hop, one that has grown on me with every listen and continues to grown on me as I give it praise here. Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik is a fantastic record, full of unique and head noddin' beats, insanely catchy choruses, and most importantly, two of the best rappers to ever grace the genre showing off their chemistry to a high end. I mean, was there a single verse on here from the duo that even got close to being weak? Let's talk about the production first, since I always do that - it's bloody phenomenal. There are really two types of instrumental on here - the softer, richer ones that appear on cuts including the title track, "Player's Ball" and "Git Up, Git Out", that are always brilliantly layered and enhance whatever the rappers over them happen to be talking about, and then the grittier, darker, percussion heavy instrumentals that appear on "Ain't No Thang", "Call of Da Wild" and "D.E.E.P.", which I actually prefer, and provide a menacing atmosphere for OutKast to spit more aggressive and direct lyrics to the listener. There isn't a single beat on here that gets even close to being weak, and it's the same for the verses. Big Boi's flow on this album is always incredible, switching between fast and slow like a schizophrenic snake that's just found his way onto a field of kangaroos, and while Andre isn't as interesting flow-wise a lot of the time, he makes up for it with a monumentous amount of quotable lyrics and brilliant subject matter choices - the guy really was a legendary MC, and still is judging by some of the guest verses we've heard since 2010. In fact, if I had to pick I'd say Andre was the slightly better rapper on this album, but then again I'm sure most people would agree. And before I finish up, can I just say how brilliant these hooks are? Aside from the one on "Crumblin' Erb", which I had my slight issues with, every chorus is unbelievably catchy and memorable, helping the project's replay value out a ton (where the skits certainly don't). Sure, this album isn't OutKast's most thoughtful album, or most experimental, or best, but it's still a bloody great debut - the fact that they would improve on it time and time again is just testament to this group's incredible skill. This is one of the dopest debut albums ever released. True dat.

Best Tracks: Myintrotoletuknow, Ain't No Thang, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, Player's Ball, Git Up Git Out, Hootie Hoo, D.E.E.P.

Worst Tracks: Crumblin' Erb

More on the work of Big Boi and Andre 3000 to come!

The Lil Wayne Discography, pt.1 - Tha Block Is Hot

Okay, okay. I know some of you may be thinking to yourselves right now – why do this? Why put yourself through the miserable and tiresome exercise that the Lil Wayne discography is sure to be? Is this something to do with the whole Superbowl debacle that’s going on right now? Are you going mental? And to you I answer: no. I am doing this for two reasons. One, because it will either be surprisingly good or terribly bad, which will make for fun writing either way. And two, because I have always kind of maintained in conversations and in my own head that Lil Wayne is pretty overrated. Sure, I’ve heard good bars from him, but his delivery makes me cringe, and a lot of his content seems to be about the most generic bullshit there is. And yes, there are a couple of dope hit songs he’s got, like “Six Foot Seven Foot” and “Love Me”, but even on these admitted bangers, he isn’t necessarily the main star of the show (okay, maybe he IS on the former of those, but whatever). For every good bar or piece of wordplay, there’s always something terrible going alongside it, most of the time being an awfully stale sex punchline – and I think we all know about some of Wayne’s godawful reaches when it comes to likening things to that activity his fans so desperately want to hear about (in his mind, that is). And don’t get me started on this man’s autotune – imagine how much better the chorus of The Game’s “My Life” would be if he had got someone who could actually sing to do it?

Still, for all the flaws I’ve picked out in his big hits and guest appearances, there’s something I must admit – I never actually have taken the time to sit down and listen to a whole entire Lil Wayne album, much less his whole catalogue. So, since I’m back at college now and I have to spend lots of time sat in a library with access to a computer, I’m going to run through his whole ass discography – well, just the studio albums that is. Maybe we’ll save the ton of mixtapes he’s put out over the years for later. I aim to discover if Lil Wayne really does deserve the constant praise that he gets, and if he deserves more accolade from me. And so, ladies and gentlemen of the Beats, Rhymes & Reviews audience, I present to you the first write-up in my [name to be thought about – it’s hard to think of something as catchy as Murs-athon, you know!] – a review of Wayne’s debut album, Tha Block Is Hot. I can’t front – that is a dope title.

I’m sure there are people out there who don’t realise this, but Lil Wayne a/k/a Tunechi a/k/a Young Mula a/k/a Weezy (I could go on) has actually been around since the late ‘90s, even though he didn’t get really big until around 2008 with the release of one of his most recognisable projects, Tha Carter III. Of course, a lot of rappers started long before they hit the big time, but here’s the thing – Wayne was big back then too. I’m sure we all know that he was signed to Cash Money, and was part of the group Hot Boyz, along with Juvenile, Mannie Fresh, B.G., Birdman and a bunch of other people who haven’t been relevant for twenty years. However, what I didn’t know until recently was that his debut effort, that of the horrible cover art known as Tha Block Is Hot, charted at no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. That’s pretty crazy stuff. And speaking of his debut effort, here’s a review for that now. Nice transition, huh?

Looking at the tracklist of this album, I’m struck by a couple of thoughts. The first is that this album looks quite long. 17 tracks for 70 minutes of music, without any skits at all to break up the monotony, besides an intro which I pretty much could have predicted would be there. This isn’t worrying exactly, but if I don’t end up enjoying the sound of this album then that could be a big problem. And I do kind of know what to expect here, mind – this is a late ‘90s Southern hip-hop album, so it’ll probably have club ready beats that sound a bit cheap but still bump nonetheless, and lyrics that revolve around bragging, sex, bragging and violence. You know, nice stuff. The features on here consist of quite a few members of the Cash Money Millionares collective – that’s B.G., Juvenile, Big Tymers and Turk – and also some guy called Papa Reu, whom I haven’t ever heard before. A good thing, or a bad? You decide. Oh, and the beats on this album are all done by Mannie Fresh, who did pretty much all of the stuff for this collective – overworking can be a good thing of course, but I hope that the guy had some good ideas after all of the stuff he’d already put out.

I’m kinda just droning on now, but the effect of that isn’t necessarily bad – I actually find myself rather excited to start this thing up now. So, let’s get going then. Lil Wayne. Tha Block Is Hot. Here we go.

All songs are produced by Mannie Fresh.

1. Intro (feat. Big Tymers)

Well, this was a rap album intro, featuring Birdman and Mannie Fresh hyping up our host over a fairly triumphant instrumental that I didn’t mind too much. Still, if you could refer back to the first seven words of this paragraph, that would be much appreciated.

2. Tha Block Is Hot

The lead single and most popular song on this album. On this song, Wayne drops three verses over a haunting beat from Mannie Fresh, and the results are pretty great, if overlong. The opening verse is incredibly engaging on here, with Lil Wayne comin’ out swinging with descriptions of the dark and harsh conditions of the location where he lived at the time. Oh, and there’s quite a bit of violence on here too, but anyone looking at this confrontational cover and not expecting that probably needs their eyes checked out. The chorus on here was catchy, the beat was dope, and I actually enjoyed Wayne’s performance a lot too. The third verse probably could have been cut, though, as the song felt like it was dragging by that point. Fact – this song is where the first ever example of a “skrrt!” ad-lib was found. Well, I didn’t say it was a fun fact.

3. Loud Pipes (feat. Big Tymers, Juvenile & B.G.)

Why is this song so long, man? The instrumental on here sounds like it was stolen from Swizz Beatz’ hard-drive of rejects, and then tweaked to sound even louder and more obnoxious than it already was, and the rapping doesn’t help it either. Mannie Fresh delivers a fairly good performance to open the track up, and I didn’t mind B.G.’s efforts either, but unfortunately Birdman sounds completely off beat and awkward throughout his sixteen bars of bullshit, and Lil Wayne’s sing-songy flow was just straight up annoying. Also, the Juvenile hook will probably haunt me to the end of my days. Yeah, I didn’t like this that much.

4. Watcha Wanna Do

A hell of a lot better than the previous song, but nothing really worth returning to either. Wayne’s lyrics revolve around the fact that while he may look like a short little kid (because let’s face it, that’s what he was), he’ll still find ways to mess you up and possibly kill you, all the while coming up with strangely ineffective insults to call you (see “feminine punk” – I mean, what sort of name-calling is that??). The lyrics themselves aren’t terrible, but I don’t find the overall concept easy to take seriously, especially when we’ve got this instrumental behind them that goes for “aggressive and haunting” but instead lands somewhere around “fairly unsettling but ultimately dull”. The hook’s pretty fun, but otherwise this was merely eh.

5. Kisha (feat. the Hot Boys)

Nah, man. Just… nah. I honestly can’t believe these guys chose what is actually the best instrumental so far, with its intense melody and urgent sound, and turned it into this awful storytelling track where the four MCs (Wayne, Turk, Juvenile and B.G.) take turns describing sexual encounters with THE SAME DAMNED GIRL. This is just an exercise in shaming women – I mean, I’m sure these guys don’t have a few months break after their relationships end, so why should it be OK for them to talk like this? I could not stand this song, man.

6. High Beamin’ (feat. B.G.)

Over what is easily the most godawful beat we’ve heard over the entire course of this album, Lil Wayne and B.G. rap about money meanwhile forgetting that they’re supposed to be, you know, entertaining us. There’s not really much to say here – no bars of note, nothing good to mention in the beat, some terrible sing-songy flows here and there, and a horrible chorus. This is the worst song yet. Jesus, man.

7. Lights Off

From what I’m seeing, this is one of the more well regarded songs on the album. My question – why the hell is that?? On this song, it seems Wayne initially spit these murderous and violent lyrics over a completely different beat, as the one on here is soft as a bowl of melting ice cream, and about as strong. Yeah, I said it – aside from the cool drum experimentation at the end, this beat is horrid. And considering he’s widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time, I’m finding it hard to actually get any good bars out of these songs. I mean, they’re not bad or anything, but most of the lyrics on this track fail to stick with me, or make me want to highlight them here. I’m sorry, but I did not like this one at all.

8. Fuck Tha World

Looks like we’re naming our songs after 2Pac classics now. Nice work, Wayne. Nice work. Still, I have to admit that this was actually a pretty great track, even if the instrumental sounded kind of tacky if you ask me – imagine Jay-Z’s “Lucky Me” beat if it was made with a budget of £5.50. The actual rapping, however, was great, as Lil Wayne does a 1-80 on the violent and braggadocios content we’ve heard so far, and actually starts to rap about his real life struggles, including the loss of his father, being poor, and having a child at a very young age – I feel like now is a good time to note that Wayne was young when this album came out. That’s probably why most of what we’ve heard so far isn’t very good, but this is, trust me. I’ll even forgive the fact that he stole this title. Not a bad song, Weezy. Not bad at all.

9. Remember Me (feat. B.G.)

This was another instance of a song just going on for a bit longer than it should have, but all in all I didn’t mind this one. I actually liked the slightly unorthodox beat, with it’s futuristic sound effects and all, and Lil Wayne kept things entertaining with his brags and what have you that we’ve pretty much become entirely used to at this stage of the album. The chorus from B.G. (which hilariously refers to the host as “Weezy Wee”) is quite godawful, though, and as I said I feel like this would have worked better with just two verses, as it starts to get a bit headache inducing after a while. Still, I kind of enjoyed this one.

10. Respect Us (feat. Juvenile)

Well, this was weird, and by weird, I don’t mean intriguingly good, but rather – slightly unorthodox in its execution but still ultimately pretty bad. I just don’t understand why you would take this tropical-ass music, and turn it into this late ‘90s cheap sounding beat that just ends up sounding silly rather than actually something you’d want to dance to. And aside from Lil Wayne making time to enact the process of coughing up a hairball, the rest of the lyrics here are just drab and really uninteresting. I mean, you read the title – do I need to spell it out? Also, Juvenile only pops up for the hook here, and the less said about that the better. Man, this kinda sucked.

11. Drop It Like It’s Hot (feat. B.G. & Mannie Fresh)

Mannie Fresh actually did kind of a good job on his other feature here, so hopefully I can look forward to his performance on this one. Also, Wayne was indeed the person to first use this phrase in hip-hop, not the Snoop D-O-double-G like you might think. Honestly, I enjoyed this beat a lot, as it sounded like a lot more effort and, you know, money had been put into it, and I also liked the hook, which interpolated the lines from Juvenile’s “Back That Azz Up” that give this song its name. Unfortunately, not everything about this could be defended – the second of Wayne’s two verses was pretty good, but his first was weak, and goddamn what does Mannie Fresh think he’s up to on here? That verse was horrific. I’m not one to advocate for censorship, but I really think that that should have been cut. This is still one of the better songs here, but remember – that’s not a good thing. This is still quite bad.

12. Young Playa (feat. Big Tymers)

No, no, no. This song title is godawful. Wayne starts this one with some creepy laughing, before launching into an awful vocal delivery and selection of lyrics that are nothing more than dull, boastful gibberish. Why is he betting on Kobe? Why is that relevant? Funnily enough, Birdman and Mannie Fresh don’t even rap on here – they simply provide spoken interludes between each verse. Was that really worth the feature credit? I mean, really?? Also, I didn’t mention it, but this beat is really weak. Honestly, I just heard another line about something disgusting, and I can’t be prepared with this one anymore. It’s bad. Just bad.

13. Enemy Turf (feat. Juvenile)

Well, at least this song isn’t about sex. Instead, Wayne and Juvenile (who actually bothers to deliver a verse on this one) talk about how conditions are so poor in their hometowns that they feel that they’re on “enemy turf”, but make no mistake – they aren’t sad about this. It’s merely an excuse to discuss more violence, not that I mind too much, as Juvenile does sound quite convincing on here – also, he’s easily the most unique member of Cash Money from what I’m seeing, or at least the incarnation of the group at that time. Wayne does a solid job too, and I even thought the beat bopped along quite nicely. Yeah, I liked this one a lot. Well, a lot is an overstatement, but still I quite enjoyed it.

14. Not Like Me (feat. Big Tymers)

Oh great, another Big Tymers feature. Thank God it’s the last. Still, I didn’t dislike this song either – the chorus from an apparently uncredited Papa Rue notwithstanding, since I hate it. Yes, “I got so much money I know who killed Kennedy” might be the stupidest rap lyric of the ‘90s, but on the other hand the instrumental on this one was actually quite moving, and I really enjoyed all of the performances from the three artists here. Yeah, it’s not top tier stuff, but this did me fine.  

15. Come On (feat. B.G.)

Well, I guess we’ve given up on creative song titles. And creative songs. Why is this so repetitive? Did they not hear that? What the hell is this? Nothing about this song is worth mentioning – it’s not even bad, it’s just really bland and boring. Come on guys, we almost had a good run there!!

16. Up To Me

I guess Weezy finally mastered the art of creating a proper song with this one, as this track actually has a unique theme that is followed through satisfactorily, and it has a beat that doesn’t get old after a minute and a half – well, I guess we’ve got Mannie to thank for that latter point. The production on here was really nice and poignant, and Wayne uses it to rap about his deceased stepfather, and about how he’s going to carry on his ways in remembrance of him – he also uses a lot of the track to directly address his father. This is also one of the first times on the album where some lines have stuck out to me for a good reason – I really liked “but the same thing make ya laugh, make ya cry, and everybody that you love it’s like they have to die”. Yeah, this was actually a really good song – in fact, it’s my favourite so far.

17. You Want War (feat. Turk)

For the closing song on this album, Weezy finally realises that you don’t need a bullshit hook to make a good song, and decides to have this song with just three verses – two from him, and one in the middle from Turk, who must be the guy from Cash Money that no-one actually remembers. I enjoyed this a decent amount, and I loved Weezy’s flow towards the end, but there’s no way this was the best way we could have ended things. This is a song for the middle of the album at best.

Look. I know he’s well regarded. I know that he’ll probably get better from here. I’ll even acknowledge that there were a few bangers on this album. But that doesn’t change the overwhelming truth present here – this album is not good. Not only is it not good. It’s actually quite bad. Firstly, I have my big issues with the production. Most of the beats on this album are repetitive, annoying, cheap and ultimately ineffective at creating a good soundscape for whatever Wayne is trying to say. Even the best beats here don’t match up to anything Ghostface Killah or Common would have had on their albums through their career, and the worst ones are straight up god awful. Some of the more positive sounding ones are the worst here – what the hell were they even trying to do on “High Beamin'”? Or “Young Playa”? There isn’t much in the way of good production here, but to be honest the same could be said for the rapping. Almost every song here deals with the same old rubbish that a lot of mainstream hip-hop in the late 1990s and early 2000s did – violence, bragging and sex. And it’s not even tasteful – there’s no self awareness, no hint that the things talked about throughout this album aren’t actually very good. It’s all negative, and it’s all repetitive too. I know Wayne was 17 and probably thought bragging about expensive guns on a rap album was the best job in the world, but in retrospect these lyrics aren’t good. At all. Of course, Wayne did have a few personal moments on here, specifically with “Fuck tha World” and “Up to Me”, but aside from these it's slim pickings. The features on here were weak as hell too – I’m a fan of Juvenile, but even he tends to just do the hook on the songs he appears on, and everyone else just can’t be bothered to provide anything insightful or well-executed to the table apparently. And why the hell did this need to be so long? An album like this should be 11 tracks, tops. It's unfortunate that it's often the least engaging rappers who chuck the most music on each LP. Yeah, I didn’t like this album much. There were a couple of good joints, but nothing really worth returning to, and some pretty terrible moments too. I just hope to God that things improve from here, because if they don’t then I think I’ll begin to regret this album run, and very quickly…

Best Track: "Up to Me"

Worst Track: "Young Playa"

Oh, and I'm going to start scoring these albums too - I'll rank them all at the end, and also explain my reasoning if I happen to up or down a rating. 

49/100